Opening Up the Senses

I was working with some personal self-doubts, negative thoughts and judgements that arose this morning. What I usually tell people that I’m teaching or coaching, when they are going through challenging times, or trying to get rid of a negative thought form, is to open up all of their senses and go into the body. But, I realized that mostly we don’t fully understand the depth of what that means or grasp the importance and power of finding presence through embodiment.

SeeingWhen we consider opening up our sight, we begin to notice that it is strongly affected by what we believe. If we look deeply at a person or situation in the world, we will see that it or they, are always affected by our projections and perceptions, which are strongly shaped by our beliefs. It’s not our eyes that see the world it’s our beliefs that shapes what and how we see.

ListeningIf we explore the phenomenon of listening we might notice that for the most part we don’t really listen! We are either thinking about whether or not we agree, or preparing our rebuttal. Often we get distracted or spaced out by a word or phrase that leaves us pondering some situation from the remembered past or imagined future.

TasteEven what we taste is shaped our habitual beliefs and unexamined assumptions. Some people love grubs and beetles, they’re delicacies. I remember having hearts of palm and mosquito larva in the Amazon jungle. I could barely get them to my mouth without gagging, but after opening up my senses they actually became quite tasty.

SmellFor the most part we are not deeply in touch with the subtle distinctions of fragrance. Mostly our sense of smell is limited to good and bad odors. Someone who is a wine taster or connoisseur of food has a very subtle senses. Smell can elicit childhood memories of both pleasant and difficult times. Warm cookies or our favorite meal and then the smell of being sick or an unpleasant place like a meat factory. (notice the response in your body when you think of certain smells)

TouchSo many of are not even present in our own body to feel what’s happening. We are either numb or filled with pain from habitual and repetitive behavior. So we take pills and drugs which further removes us from experiencing the currents, and movement of life through us.​So when I talk about coming to your senses or opening up to them, I’m really meaning going back to our most primal instincts and exploring what does it really mean to open my senses? What are the habitual patterns, likes and dislikes, and tastes that shape our senses and how we see the world?

Can I smell the fresh fragrance of the air? Can I see the light in other beings? Can I feel the aliveness in my body? Can I track the pain to see what habitual behavior is behind it? Can I hear a shooting star or the movement of the galaxies? These are the things we can discover by deeply opening up our senses. This is the path to Unity Consciousness. To go beyond the normal dull and exhausted senses that have been beaten into submission by habitual behavior, beliefs and desensitized through fear and suppression.

Let’s get back in touch with the power and aliveness of the seasons, the currents of nature that surround us and are affecting us at all times. Can we open to the movement of the stars, the subtle sounds of the voices of our ancestors, the fragrances of a flower or a summer breeze after fresh rain, the feeling of being truly alive in the world? It’s all a miracle - just having these senses at all - they are longing and waiting for us open.

What joy! What power! What Beauty! To truly open up all of our senses, is to open up to the magic, the mystery, and the wonder of just being alive, being in a body, of connecting with other people, of being part of a community - not just a human community - but a community of trees, and whales, and gophers and butterflies, and eagles and swans. It truly is a magical world. Opening up all of our senses allows us to access to the invisible kingdom behind what we think we see, feel, hear, feel taste. When we truly come from a place of wonder and gratitude, we can step into the true mystery of why we are here and what we are being called to become.​I hope you will join me in opening and deepening all of our senses. It is what the world and our species needs right now. It the key to a much needed planetary healing.

Thank you for your support and participation.with love and gratitude,michael & meriel